Office of Research

Research and scholarship are core values
at William James College. The Office of Research (OR) is charged with advancing that
agenda through leadership and support to the entire community.

William James College is committed to social responsibility, social
justice, and professional development through experiential education.
OR supports decision-makers in these and other emerging areas of
practice through identifying, collecting, or supporting the collection
of reliable, valid and timely data, analysis and interpretation.

William James College’s tag line is “Meeting the Need…Making A
Difference.” The Office of Research helps to realize that aspiration
through data-driven decision making: helping to identify and document
the need; supporting the planning, implementation and adjustment of the
approach to meeting that need; and evaluating whether we are making the
difference we set out to achieve.

In the execution of its charge the Office of Research subscribes to a number of practice principles:

Research and evaluation need to be
developmentally sound – appropriate activities depend on a program’s
stage of development: from establishing the need for a program and
planning it, through pilot implementation and adjustment, full
implementation and efficacy, to dissemination, management, quality
assurance and ongoing quality improvement.

Methods need to be responsive to key stakeholders’ needs and perspectives.

Questions should come before answers – and
appropriate methods are the ones that are responsive to what we need to
know and what we want to learn, as well as when we need to know it.

“Far better an approximate answer to the right
question, which is often vague, than an exact answer to the wrong
question, which can always be made precise.” (John Tukey)

Mixed methods combining rigorous qualitative and
quantitative approaches can provide important insights and lend
themselves to different uses and audiences.

“In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. But in practice, there is.” (Yogi Berra)

William James College’s continued growth and diversification are supported by clear policies and procedures. They provide a transparent framework for articulating expectations, clarifying roles and responsibilities, and supporting the systems meant to advance the research agenda. To work effectively, our policies and procedures need to be clear about responsibility and accountability. The Office of Research is responsible and accountable for the following policies and procedures as articulated in William James College’s Institutional Policies and Procedures Manual (IPPM):